Mercy by Troy Ruff

mobiledeli said:
a pretty much perfect film.

it had a very clear beginning middle end, suspense drama makeup. the acting was good, really good. I really enjoyed the location. Nothing beats a film shot in one room (except for the car stuff - was the car moving?)

really good work.
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Thanks, no the car was not moving, all static, this film was really fun to make. :2vrolijk_08:
 
Troy, my friend. Congrats on the reviews so far. It was an honor making this with you and I am stoked it is going well.
 
Good work, guys. I could see the ending coming here but hey, it was still a fun ride so that's all that matters.
Some of the effects were also quite good. Great shot near the end as well. I won't spoil it though.

My only nitpick would be to cut down the brothers screaming and such just a tad.

Great stuff, boys.

MAH
 
Sweet! Really nice job on this film Troy. I REALLY liked the cinematography and all the camera moves. I don't know why, by the final shot as you pull out of the building and across the side...brillant!

Good story if not a bit predictable that was well written and acted. If anything, the chained-up bro was just a bit over the top for me (and got a chukle from my 16 year old daughter). Nice work on the VFX shots.

All in all this was a very enjoyable film and fits nicely in my personal top 10!
Congratulation.
 
ZazaCast said:
If anything, the chained-up bro was just a bit over the top for me (and got a chukle from my 16 year old daughter).
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This is how I feel about most "Scary" films. It's really hard in the short format to get people into the story enough for the monsters to actually be scary. To me this has been a comedy fest, but then, I haven't seen a movie that scared me since I was 10!
 
I'm going to be picky here because this film is good enough not to warrant a general response.

I do think the zombie brothers reactions are over the top. Also, in no way does he look related to the main character.

Your wide shots fell pretty flat for me composition wise. I also feel like your lighting on the brick wall was too broad and not up to par with the lighting on the people away from the wall.

One thing that bugged me A LOT was the OTS on the two leads. Its over the zombie brothers shoulder and he's up against a wall. In no way could you get a camera there. That cheat just didn't work for me.

The title sequence and building effects i wasn't very fond of either. The flashbacks totally brought me out of this beautiful tension you were building. I don't think they're needed. they don't explain anything that i didn't already get from your short.

It is a simple well told story (One thing that i wish more people would do in these fests). Good performances from your leads. Overall good camerawork. Great tension. Good gunshot effect. One of the top shorts in this fest.
 
Troy Ruff said:
Sorry man, I don't really know what you mean? but thanks for the feedback. :cheesy:
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I meant it looked good and the performances worked for me, so I'll forgive the fact that the story isn't the strongest, but I be damned if it isn't freakin nearly impossible to tell a great monster story in 6 minutes.
 
Chris_Keaton said:
I meant it looked good and the performances worked for me, so I'll forgive the fact that the story isn't the strongest, but I be damned if it isn't freakin nearly impossible to tell a great monster story in 6 minutes.
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oh i see, cool, I agree it is pretty hard to tell a good story and have the character emotional attachments all in 6mins. Thank you for your feedback, it helps me grow as a film maker. I relize the story is predictable but I really like the emotion between the brothers and just taking a look at a situation like this and how we would react. Thanks everyone, please continue to give feedback good or bad. :)
 
Is Keaton giving you a hard time? You have to love him. He doesn't hold back the punches. :cheesy:

I like the whole setup with the two brothers and the girl. At one point when the chained brother lunged at the camera I thought he was going to transform into a werewolf. It looked great! You never know what someone might come up with... a living dead werewolf? The brother with the gun looked great, but the tone of his voice was not right. It didn't work for me. Everything else is top notch including the creepy pull-away at the end.
 
You had me worried from your still shots man and even watching the movie, my initial thoughts went along the lines of
A) he's a werewolf
B) he's some other kind of monster
C) damn it would suck if he were a werewolf... because then how the hell did you get your hands on my script?
D) damn you for stealing my script
E) Phew! He's a zombie! Chill Pill in effect.

That said I was finally able to watch and enjoy the movie. A couple of continuity flubs here and there with the positioning of the actors from shot to shot, but nothing too glaring (excet for the white underwear which I hadn't even seen until someone un-named pointed it out). This went directly into my favorites queue but I kind of expected that. I'm just glad I was vindicated and you delivered so well.

Nice touch on the ending. i certainly didn;t see that coming. The situation with the brothers was bad enough to carry the film. It's good to see the humanity side of the zombie situation. The ending just put a nice cap on it all.

Top 10 for sure. Thanks for the excellent showing.
 
Hey Troy,
I was watching the films with my friends and they aren't involved with film making at all and they really enjoyed this. I figured I'd pass that a long because sometimes it's a lot harder to get approval from people who aren't involved in film making because they don't know what goes into it. I enjoyed it as well and I thought your location was great, acting was good, lighting was good etc. This had a lot of the elements that make a solid short film. The story was easy to understand and well delivered. I think the brother's transformation was a little bit too long but it was a minor issue. Thanks for sharing, hats off to everyone involved.
 
Matty_g said:
I'm going to be picky here because this film is good enough not to warrant a general response.

I do think the zombie brothers reactions are over the top. Also, in no way does he look related to the main character.

Your wide shots fell pretty flat for me composition wise. I also feel like your lighting on the brick wall was too broad and not up to par with the lighting on the people away from the wall.

One thing that bugged me A LOT was the OTS on the two leads. Its over the zombie brothers shoulder and he's up against a wall. In no way could you get a camera there. That cheat just didn't work for me.

The title sequence and building effects i wasn't very fond of either. The flashbacks totally brought me out of this beautiful tension you were building. I don't think they're needed. they don't explain anything that i didn't already get from your short.

It is a simple well told story (One thing that i wish more people would do in these fests). Good performances from your leads. Overall good camerawork. Great tension. Good gunshot effect. One of the top shorts in this fest.
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Man thanks for the feedback! I checked out your site, you have amazing stuff. I actually have another scene in mind for after the gun shot, to show the life and the two brothers together in good times. But that will be for AOF( Action on Film) in LA. I think it will help slow things down right after the gun shot. Every review helps me become a better film maker, so thanks for your feed back. :)
 
Rodney V. Smith said:
You had me worried from your still shots man and even watching the movie, my initial thoughts went along the lines of
A) he's a werewolf
B) he's some other kind of monster
C) damn it would suck if he were a werewolf... because then how the hell did you get your hands on my script?
D) damn you for stealing my script
E) Phew! He's a zombie! Chill Pill in effect.

That said I was finally able to watch and enjoy the movie. A couple of continuity flubs here and there with the positioning of the actors from shot to shot, but nothing too glaring (excet for the white underwear which I hadn't even seen until someone un-named pointed it out). This went directly into my favorites queue but I kind of expected that. I'm just glad I was vindicated and you delivered so well.

Nice touch on the ending. i certainly didn;t see that coming. The situation with the brothers was bad enough to carry the film. It's good to see the humanity side of the zombie situation. The ending just put a nice cap on it all.

Top 10 for sure. Thanks for the excellent showing.
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Sweet Im glad your guys liked it. I love zombies, I had to go with them. :)
 
NOBELO said:
Hey Troy,
I was watching the films with my friends and they aren't involved with film making at all and they really enjoyed this. I figured I'd pass that a long because sometimes it's a lot harder to get approval from people who aren't involved in film making because they don't know what goes into it. I enjoyed it as well and I thought your location was great, acting was good, lighting was good etc. This had a lot of the elements that make a solid short film. The story was easy to understand and well delivered. I think the brother's transformation was a little bit too long but it was a minor issue. Thanks for sharing, hats off to everyone involved.
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Sweet!!! thats great news, I love showing my stuff to people who are not in to film to see how they react. Because they will not be as critical and just let their emotions go with it. It seems really genuine. Thanks for letting me know . Im glad your enjoyed it. :2vrolijk_08:
 
This was pretty interesting but cool. Everything seemed to be on track. The only thing that stood in my way was in the middle of the film when his brother was turning into zombie; when he was yelling and screaming. I feel the music could have been more abrupt and intense there. It was to low and it didn't give me an emotion feel that he was turning into a zombie that could have been there with the music. Great location and Kiera at the end was terrifying! I liked this one!
 
Our awesome film commissioner Ray Arthur in Fresno showed Troy that site. It's so cool shooting in Fresno. . . Well not in the summer, it's hotter than this: :violent5: But everything is free here! Free locations, free permit, they basically told us we have the abandoned building to ourselves! Food is the main cost on these films here because we have so many passionate filmmakers that donate their time and equipment to make the next great film!
 
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